Burning Resolve

"Fuck!" Aryan cursed through gritted teeth, clutching his bleeding back.

The searing pain shot through his body like wildfire, burning with every shallow breath.

"Where the hell did that come from?! I almost died... and it's a Rank 7 lesser beast on top of that!"

Feeling the warmth of his blood soaking through his torn clothes. His muscles screamed as he tried to stay upright, and the thunderclaw wolf prowled before him, its eyes glowing with predatory hunger, electricity crackling along its fur.

Aryan's mind raced, panic tightening its grip on his chest.

'I had such a hard time just beating that Rank 3 Stoneback Wolf, If I have to fight this thing, I'm dead for sure!'

His vision blurred as the weight of exhaustion set in, but something caught his eye—the strange mark etched into the wolf's flesh.

A twisted symbol, pulsing with faint energy, as though branded by some dark magic.

'Wait…' Aryan squinted, struggling to focus despite the pain. 'That mark on its body… why do I feel like I've seen it before?'

Before he could piece the thought together, a sudden, burning pain flared on his neck.

"Tsss!" Aryan winced, gasping as his fingers flew to the glowing mark beneath his skin, searing like a white-hot flame.

'Not this again!'

His fingertips grazed the familiar burn, and he blinked in shock.

'It's… the same symbol as the wolf's. But why… does it look a little different?'

"Rooaaaar!"

The realization barely had time to settle before the wolf let out a blood-curdling roar, its snarl shaking the ground beneath his feet.

Aryan's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened, forcing him back to the present danger.

'I can't think about that now!'

His pulse thundered in his ears as the beast crouched low, ready to lunge.

Clang!

He raised his sword just in time to meet the wolf's incoming attack.

Aryan grunted, muscles straining as he blocked the sharp claws scraping against his blade. The force of the impact sent him staggering backward, his feet sliding against the dirt.

His back burned, the fresh wounds from the earlier attack flaring with every movement.

"Keuk! Get away from me, you filthy thing!"

Aryan yelled, his arms trembling as he pushed the wolf back with all his remaining strength.

The wolf growled, its electric-blue eyes locked onto him. Static crackled through the air as the tension thickened between them. Aryan stumbled, his breath coming in ragged gasps as his legs wobbled beneath him.

His vision blurred again, the pain and blood loss becoming too much to bear.

"Huff… huff…" He could barely catch his breath.

'What do I do…? I don't stand a chance against it. And my body…'

He glanced at his torn side, where blood was seeping relentlessly from his wounds.

'The bleeding won't stop… am I… am I really going to die?'

The oppressive weight of despair bore down on him, threatening to swallow him whole. His thoughts wavered, the strength in his legs beginning to give out.

Slap!

Aryan struck his own face, the sharp sting jolting him back to reality.

"No! No, no, no!" His voice was strained but fierce.

''Wake up! I can't think like this… I won't think like this! I can't afford to let fear take over... If I lose courage now, it's over. I'm not going out like this!''

He exhaled slowly, forcing his panic aside, though his heart still pounded furiously.

His gaze locked back onto the wolf, which was now stalking forward, ready to strike again.

"Haaa..."

He let out a long, deliberate breath, narrowing his eyes.

'Focus,' his grip tightening on his sword's hilt.

'There's only one thing I can do now… and that's…'

His body moved before his mind could catch up, feet kicking off the ground as he pivoted sharply and sprinted toward the denser part of the forest.

His heart hammered against his ribs, his breath coming in quick, shallow bursts.

The thunderclaw wolf, sensing his retreat, let out a feral growl and leaped after him, closing the distance in seconds.

Aryan's chest burned, his body on the verge of collapse, but he pushed forward, the air crackling with static as the wolf neared.

''It won't work… I have to think of something… but what?!''

As the wolf closed in, Aryan forced himself to tap into his remaining energy reserves.

"Swift-Tel!" he muttered under his breath, his vision blurring as his body flickered forward, the world rushing past him in a blur.

He managed to gain some distance, though his limbs were heavy and sluggish.

He stumbled to a halt, gasping for air. "Haa… haa…" He looked back, his heart thudding painfully in his chest.

''Did… did I get rid of it?"

His legs wobbled beneath him, his entire body burning with exhaustion. Blood dripped from his side, painting the forest floor beneath him.

Then—

Zoom!

A crackling sound cut through the air, sharp and deadly. Aryan's heart froze as he saw the wolf blur into motion, moving impossibly fast.

Before he could react, it struck. The wolf's claws tore into his injured shoulder, and Aryan let out a scream.

"Aaaarghhh!"

The force of the attack sent him crashing backward into a tree. His body hit the bark with a sickening thud, the air knocked from his lungs. Something dropped from his robes as he collapsed to the ground, pain searing through every inch of him.

"Ugh…" He gasped, his breath shallow and ragged as blood poured from both his sides.

"It… hurts… like hell!" His voice cracked, fury and despair mixing in equal measure. "That fucking dog…"

His blurry gaze flickered down to the object that had fallen from his robes—the Ember Bloom. It pulsed faintly with a fiery glow, and for a moment, everything else faded away.

'Wait...' Aryan blinked in disbelief. 'The Ember Bloom? I still had it on me?'

His heart skipped a beat, a mixture of hope and self-loathing rising within him.

'I'm such an idiot! How could I forget about this!?'

He stared at the Ember Bloom, his mind racing.

'If I consume it... I'll get stronger—a lot stronger. Strong enough to deal with that bastard wolf...'

But his thoughts wavered. The warnings about the Ember Bloom came rushing back—stories of cultivators who had consumed its petals, gaining immense power only to suffer crippling backlash afterward.

He could feel his pulse quicken, fear gripping him again. What if consuming it meant losing more than he gained?

But then the wolf let out another spine-chilling roar, snapping him back to the present. It was preparing to attack again.

Aryan clenched his teeth, feeling the cold reality settle in his bones. He was out of options.

'The hell with the side effects! I don't care anymore! My life's more important!'

Without another moment's hesitation, Aryan grabbed the Ember Bloom, its fiery warmth seeping into his skin.

He crushed the petals in his hand and shoved them into his mouth, grimacing as the bitter taste spread across his tongue. The heat burned his throat as he swallowed, and then—

Boom!

Power erupted inside him, raw and untamed, like an inferno bursting to life. The fiery energy surged through his veins, overwhelming his senses.

The air around him crackled with heat, and the force of his energy sent the thunderclaw wolf flying into a nearby tree with a sickening crash.

Aryan's body glowed with an intense, fiery aura, his strength surging to new heights.